For many German football fans, this summer will be the day they are looking forward to! The 17th edition of the UEFA Nations Cup 2024 will be held in 10 cities in Germany from June 14 to July 14; There will be not only intense matches, cold beers, but also the anticipation of fans to regain their strength after Germany's crushing defeat in the last two World Cups.
However, for non-fans, as long as it is a game, there are winners and losers, and it doesn't matter if you win or lose. Having said that, people still love winners, and even small local teams have a lot of support in addition to the perennial winners of the professional leagues, so it is clear that there must be other factors that make football popular in Germany, Europe and the world.
How popular football is
Let's start with the popularity and popularity of football. According to a 2023 data, more than half of people in Germany are very interested in football; If you look at the number of football clubs, statistics show that half of the world's population is football fans, and 2.7 million people regularly play football and train regularly, which is 4% of the global population. In addition, there are currently more than 50 countries in the world with football leagues, the most well-known of which are probably Spain, Italy, England and Germany, as well as major events such as the European Championship and the World Cup, which are held every four years. If you want to watch a football game, open the sports channel and there are football matches to watch almost every day around the world, which shows the popularity and popularity of football!
The reason why football has become a global sport is definitely one of the driving forces behind the economic benefits. In the sports betting industry, football is almost the most popular betting sport; Hosting large-scale events will lead to a series of business activities and job opportunities, including food and beverage, marketing, sports management and stadium facilities.
But how did such a huge football economy come about? This can be attributed to the fact that the sport itself is inherently low-cost and less restrictive, which has contributed to the popularity of football from scratch. Compared to other sports that require a specific field and high cost, football only needs to have a spherical shape, something that can be kicked to start, and there is no special requirement for the height of the player, it is not difficult to imagine that football has been one of people's entertainment activities for a long time, and even as early as the 2nd century BC there were football games in China, and in Greece, Japan, and ancient Rome, there were also entertainment items with feet to kick the ball.
Fast forward to modern times, and the official history of football is generally referred to as the establishment of the first football club in England in 1863, after the introduction of the sport to Germany, which founded the German Football Association (DFB, Deutscher fu Ball-Bund) in 1900, which is still one of the largest and most influential football associations in the world. Founded in 1963, the professional football league is one of the most watched and popular football leagues in the world to this day. Notable German teams include Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04. In addition, in addition to the professional leagues in Germany, there are many teams at the local level.
German football culture
Football has a long history in Germany, and its place in Germany can be seen in the movie Das Wunder von Bern. After the Second World War, Germany was very depressed, so football became a way to unite domestic identity and prove Germany to the world. The working class in the Ruhr region not only entertained themselves with football, but also contributed to the talent development of the national football team. Later, in the 1954 World Cup, Germany won the first championship in the team's history by defeating archrivals Hungary, a result that exhilarated and united the whole of Germany, and German society was filled with a strong sense of trust and courage to believe that Germany could get out of the haze of defeat. Since then, the Germans' willpower in football, their formation on the pitch, their control and defence have become part of the people's identification with German society.
With Germany winning four World Cups and three European Championships, football's status in the country has been further strengthened by its impressive results, and the sense of pride that comes with winning football has also strengthened people's identity and belonging to the country, and football is also seen as the best sport to foster a sense of teamwork among young people.
In addition, when it comes to German football, it is important to mention their unique fan culture (fankultur). At every game, every stadium, you can see fans holding up banners full of creative or demeaning current events, and hear their own cheers and taunts against their opponents, bringing a stronger competitive atmosphere to the tense game. The most die-hard fans are the so-called Ultras, and unlike the average fan, they have to follow strict rules, such as showing up for every game, unless there is a major family event to miss for any reason.
The stadium is full of people with different occupations, social statuses, and family backgrounds. But when we talk about football, these groups that have no intersection in the original society resonate, and through football there is a new social connection. From the perspective of the history of the development of football, football can also be seen as a microcosm of the antagonistic class in German society; It is a workers' movement that is played for the sake of honour and a means for women to fight to organize teams.
If you ask a football fan: why do you like football? Why support this team? I'm sure every fan has their own story to share. In the past, the football team was made up of locals, and the players on the field of play could be your neighbors and friends, and winning or losing the game was a matter of rivalry between neighbors, which is why many non-professional football teams today still have many die-hard fans for no other reason than because I was born here. Although it sounds like fate, it is also because there is no interest between the fans and the team, but is based on a deeper level of commitment and identity, and the relationship between them is less like the idol worship of fans, and more similar to the expectations of distant relatives and neighbors for talented children.
Commercialized soccer events
However, as football becomes more and more commercialized, teams even buy and sell players to increase the team's chances of winning, and from time to time there are also angry shouts from fans who are full of external players for the team: You are not born here, so you don't care about the development of the team! This kind of performance seems to be quite old-school sentiment in today's sports environment, which is only about winning and losing and economic benefits, but it is also because of this sentiment that regional leagues can continue to operate actively.
Despite the lack of resources behind the local teams, even if they meet the first division champion in the championship (DFB-Pokalspiel) in Germany, the fans of the local teams are not afraid at all! On the one hand, they are excited about the opportunity for their team to compete with the top players, and on the other hand, they are even more excited to cheer and shout, and this often really works miracles, when the local team actually beats the team that is one or two levels above them.
Unfortunately, the fate of modern football has to yield to huge financial interests in order to obtain better resources, so that teams can be favored by more sponsors, and the value of players can be high. Fans can only buy the jerseys they support the team out of love for the team, and at the same time digest the disgust of big companies on the jerseys to get involved in football.
On the other hand, it is often a difficult and exhausting process for players to make a decision between pursuing their own goals and the interests of the team. For example, after the German national team's defeat in the Qatar World Cup in 2022, it was also rumored that the players could not concentrate on the game because of the controversy within Germany over Qatar as the host country. There are also different positions among players, such as Joshua Kimmich and Nico Schlotterbeck, who have stated that the most important value of being an athlete is to pursue the pinnacle of their careers and to win on the pitch.
However, former German national team captain Philipp Lahm, who is now the tournament director of the German national team Euro 2024, and former German national team player Toni Kroos, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, have completely stated that they refuse to attend the game in Qatar. They condemned the compromises made by the German Football Association. After all, the effects of every football match will be closely watched by the public and all walks of life, and players and teams have a corresponding responsibility to improve the status quo of inequality through boycotts. The clash of these values has a more or less physical and mental impact on the players.
Finally, German football coach Jürgen Klopp once described the charm of German football as follows: "There are wins and losses in football games, but we are with the people we like, just like coming home, which is what everyone yearns for to know where they belong." In my opinion, this is the most appropriate expression of the fans' emotions towards football!